Philippines startups strut stuff at Korean summit

SUWON, South Korea – As the first Asian edition of the South Summit platform wrapped up here last week, a local startup emerged as the big winner as it bested finalists from other countries – including the Philippines – in the tech-heavy event.

But for six startups from the Philippines – Betterteem, Farmtri, Platz, xeleqt ai, Virtual Maps and prezenter – South Summit Korea is their passport to showcase their innovative ideas to the global startup community, which includes venture capitalists, mega entrepreneurs and top business schools.

Leading the Philippine contingent is Betterteem, an artificial intelligence (AI) – powered platform useful for companies’ human resources (HR) administration as it is designed for employee retention and engagement.

Bo Discarga, founder and CEO of Betterteem, told The STAR their proprietary software application is now used in the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and in South Korea itself, where the government even extended funding for the startup.

The first to back up their venture, however, was no less than business titan Manuel V. Pangilinan, whose IdeaSpace Foundation infused P1 million to Betterteem in 2022 after pitching one of the best proposals at the ninth run of IdeaSpace’s acceleration program.

Essentially, Betterteem is a workplace app that maximizes predictive analysis for employee benchmarking and insights. It also provides employee assistance programs on demand to make mental health support accessible in the workplace.

“This would make HR transition from a purely administrative function to that of strategic partnership with management so that by using AI, employers can better understand and plan for employee retention strategies using the app’s insights into their workplace sentiments,” Discarga said.

The other startups in the Philippine contingent are Cebu-based agri-tech Farmtri, Virtual Maps for LGUs’ tourism promotion programs, prezenter for AI-powered presentations in any smart TV, Platz for turning video into 3D content and xeleqt ai as reflex agents for physical operations.

Korean startup Dtonic, however, was the global winner in the first edition of South Summit Korea, thanks to a project that is revolutionizing everything from the smart cities to retail with its comprehensive three-layered AI approach – offering cutting-edge solutions in data platforms, edge computing and AI applications.

Another Korean startup, Norma, also won the award for the Most Disruptive startup, while German startup Aqarios was recognized with the Best Team award. Israel’s VSL Labs won the Most Sustainable and Peru’s Tumi Robotics with the distinction for the Most Scalable startup.

During the three-days event, Suwon City in Gyeonggi province, just at the outskirts of Seoul, became the world capital of entrepreneurship and innovation in AI and deep tech, with more than 110 speakers and more than 4,000 attendees.

In addition, the event also brought together representatives of large technology companies from Asia and around the world such as AWS, Nvidia, Rakuten Symphony, Kakao, LinkedIn and Naver Cloud.

South Summit Korea 2024 was co-organized by Madrid-based IE University, in collaboration with the Government of Gyeonggi and GBSA (Gyenggido Business & Science Accelerator).